Industry Paper Releases

Our 23^rd SMB Business Barometer survey has picked up on a troublesome downturn in advertisers' mood.  Headed into the latter half of the year, they've become a bit more reticent about ad spending. But there's not all bad news. Our six-page summary, available only to Borrell subscribers, details how their mood has changed every quarter since September 2016 and how that affects their plans for advertising.  The report also offers some pre-recession planning data:  Which business categories proved to be "recession-proof" during the last recession, and which took the longest time to recover.

The proliferation of "owned" media channels by SMBs is spawning an explosion in Content Marketing.  They're now spending $80 billion on it, developing blogs, videos, and other forms of storytelling about their businesses, their expertise, and their products and services.  This 59-page report, a joint project between The Branded Content Project and Borrell Associates, contains two dozen charts and tables and unique insights on how the pandemic spurred things along, and what the future holds for Content Marketing.  This is a free report available to Borrell Subscribers and all other visitors.

Local media emerged from the pandemic with a sharper focus on digital initiatives and a new drive to sell more. This year, they're on track to capture $12 billion in digital revenue, stealing market share from the big pureplay companies for the first time in 15 years.  This is our annual assessment of how much of the $92 billion spent on local digital advertising is being kept in-market by media companies, what types of digital advertising is being sold, and who's getting it.  The 66-page report features 45 charts and tables, including benchmarking data that measures digital revenue performance for TV stations, local cable systems, daily and weekly newspapers, and radio stations. Two appendices list ad-spending estimates for 513 U.S. markets for 2021 and 2022, including estimates of local media's Obtainable Digital Revenue in each market.   The report is $1,195, or free to Borrell subscribers.  An executive summary is available for free.

It's been a topsy-turvy time for auto dealers. The industry just witnesses two years of records: Record lows and highs in sales, record high growth in sticker prices, and record low days' supply of new cars on dealer lots. How will it affect advertising expenditures in 2022?  Our annual outlook chronicles the underlying changes that will affect $9.4 billion in dealer spending this year and how dealers will be forced to change their messaging.  The 30-page report contains 18 charts and graphs, plus an appendix listing 2022 ad-spending forecasts for all 210 TV Markets and another appendix detailing how dealers spent a total of $38 billion on digital marketing services in 2021. The report is $1,195, or free to subscribers.  An executive summary is available for free.

This 10-page report summarizes a monthly panel survey we conducted in October/November on streaming audio.  The report examines the personal listening habits of 174 panelist of ad buyers, as well as their marketing perspective on streaming audio, satellite radio, and podcasting and how they compare to AM/FM radio.  This report is available only to Borrell subscribers. Sign in to view the full report.

Local Ad Agencies face stiff competition these days. Digital agencies are sprouting everywhere. On top of that, media companies have also meandered into the marketing services field, creating their own agencies. Our survey of 701 local agencies in April-June 2021 gauged what agencies are buying, what they feel is effective, and how they're feeling about the competition. This report summarizes our annual agency survey, in a 10-page report with more than a dozen charts and tables. The report is free for Borrell subscribers and includes a 30-minute webinar with Borrell analysts. To purchase the report and the complete Excel workbook of findings, the price is $1,295. An executive summary is available for free. Industry Paper Subscribers: Please login to access and download the report and register for the webinar, to be held Wednesday, Sept. 15, at 11 am EST.

Our survey of 2,811 local businesses in April-June 2021 yielded a treasure trove of insights about how they're shifting their marketing activities. This report summarizes our annual survey, encompassing more than 40 questions about all facets of advertising and marketing. The 14-page summary contains two dozen charts and tables, as well as a dozen key insights from Borrell's analysts. The report is free for Borrell subscribers and includes a 30-minute webinar, to be held on Tuesday, Aug. 31. To purchase the report and the complete Excel workbook of findings, the price is $1,295. An executive summary is available for free. Industry Paper Subscribers: Please login to access and download the report and register for the webinar. Webinar- August 31, 10:00 am